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As we close out another great year at CJLO, we asked our DJs and staff to compile their favourite music, media, and, well, anything of 2024! Join us for recommendations of albums, songs, films, snacks, thrift stores, and other experiences you may have missed this past year. Happy New Year from your favourite campus-community radio station!
Aviva Majerczyk - Head Music Director and Host of The Alley
This is the first year I feel somewhat equipped to take on the task of making a best-of-the-year list, since, as of July, listening to the new albums of the year sort of became my job. This is not to say my list is more true or definitive than any of my lovely colleagues and fellow DJs, I loved compiling all these lists, seeing the similarities, differences, and even a few real shocks.
From Brat Summer to the boom in my beloved Alt-Country, it was a pretty great year in music, in my opinion. Beyond that, I especially want to highlight the amazing independent music coming out of our very own city. The perfected pop of Continue As Amery, Fraud Perry’s hilarious raunch, and Laughing’s infectious riffs, all made my job oh so easy.
Best Albums of 2024
1. Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee
A beautiful double album that is completely out of step with everything else put out this year, in the most perfect way. Cindy Lee wears her 60s influences on her sleeve, but warps and updates the sound in a way that feels totally unqiue. Listening to Diamond Jubilee feels like being transported to a dream realm. Still, this is an album you can truly put on whenever, it pairs with basically any mood.
2. MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks
Lenderman crafts perfect a rock album with Manning Fireworks. It's catchy, tight, with ideosyncratic lyrics, this album launched him to full-fledged indie stardom and for good reason.
3. Mount Eerie - Night Palace
Phil Elvrum is back with an album that sounds like early Microphones for our 2024 political climate. It’s organic and human but feels more urgent and grounded than much of his recent work.
4. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD"
The new Godspeed record is as heavy, dreary, and beautiful as you’d expect.
5. Charli XCX - Brat
It's Brat, I liked Brat a lot in the end.
6. Chanel Beads - Your Day Will Come
An album to sit and listen through the entire way. Songs like "Police Scanner" certainly stand out, but the NYC duo's soundscape through the entire album is transporting yet still kind of groovy.
7. Horse Jumper of Love - Disaster Trick
A slow, dreary rock record with beautifully dreamy guitars and some of the most depressed dude lyrics of the year. My kind of album.
8. Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood
Great alt-country songwriting on here, the songs “Right Back To It,” “Bored,” and “Crowbar” especially stand out to me.
9. Mk.Gee - Two Star and the Dream Police
Yes, I’m a Zillennial cusper, so maybe that’s part of it, but Mk.Gee knows how to craft a perfect pop song and it’s no surprise he’s spawned so many copycats. This album rocks.
10. Nilufer Yanya - My Method Actor
This album was a bit of a sleeper hit for me, but then I couldn't stop putting it on around my apartment towards the end of the year. Another record for any situation.
Honourable Mentions
Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk
Adrianne Lenker - Bright Future
Joanne Robertson and Dean Blunt - Backstage Raver
Blood - Loving You Backwards
Nap Eyes - The Neon Gate
Nourished by Time - Catching Chickens [EP]
This Is Lorelei - Box for Buddy, Box for Star
Nala Sinephro - Endlessness
Shabaka Hutchings - Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace
Belong - Realistic IX
Best Local Releases (Unranked)
Amery - Continue As Amery
Laughing - Because It’s True
Clay Pigeon - The Aching Taste of Blue
Knitting - Some Kind of Heaven
Jane Penny - Surfacing
Fraud Perry - Goodybag
Alix Fernz - Bizou
Cola - The Gloss
Girl With Dream - Tell [EP]
Feeling Figures - Everything Around You
Bibi Club - Feu du Garde
Cameron McIntyre - Program Director and Host of Shaking The Habitual
Best Albums of 2024
Nap Eyes - The Neon Gate
Mount Eerie - Night Palace
Able Noise - High Tide
Pharmakon - Maggot Mass
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - “NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD”
Nicolas Jaar - Piedras
ASKO - ASKO
MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks
Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad - Jazz Is Dead 021
Truck Violence - Violence
Hakushi Hasegawa - Mahogakko
BIG BRAVE - A Chaos of Flowers
Yetsuby - b_b
Alix Fernz - Bizou
Kee Avil - Spine
Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee
Annie-Claude Deschênes - LES MANIÈRES DE TABLE
Dis Fig & The Body - Orchards of a Futile Heaven
Shabaka Hutchings - Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace
My top throwbacks
Ry Cooder - Bop Till You Drop (1979)
Animal Collective - Sung Tongs (2004)
Built To Spill - Keep It Like a Secret (1999)
The Knife - Deep Cuts (2003)
Prowl - The Forgotten Realms (2022)
Lisa Rupnik - Station Manager and Co-host of The Last Stop
2024! A year of chances, lucky breaks and a lot of firsts! I’m absolutely overwhelmed by gratitude for everything and everyone that makes up CJLO. But let’s talk about why we're really here, the best albums and concerts of 2024!
Best Albums
Arooj Aftab - Night Reign
Hands down the best album of the year. She has no reference, she is simply creating. Listening is like diving in an underwater cave, and seeing the glitter of treasure in the dark.
Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee
This album is about memory. Trying to recreate, relive, reminisce in painstaking emotional detail. The length of the album supports this idea, trying to make things last for as long as possible. Like concentrating hard to make a daydream appear real.
Claire Rousay - Sentiment
So deeply sad.
Inoyama Land & Passepartout Duo - Radio Yugawara
If only I could describe the spark I had when I first heard this album! Inoyama Land is the pure musical reflection of nature, like holding a mirror up to a lake. There are no traces of ego, personality, time, culture. Ironically, their whole lack of identity has become their identity and what a wonderful feeling it was to meet them again, this time reinterpreted and present in the year 2024 with the help of Passepartout Duo.
Saapato - On Fire Island
Like skipping double dutch rope with nature.
**Bonus Song** Kali Malone - “All Life Long”
The whole album is fantastic (for those who like organs), but this song is of divine intervention. Listen to it, it does not leave you.
Best Concerts of 2024
Zakir Hussain at Place des Arts
Chappell Roan and Romy at Osheaga
Claire Rousay at POP Montreal
Phew at Festival Flux
Tinariwen at Olympia
**Bonus** Beverly Glenn-Copeland at POP Montreal
I’m not going to dive in too much about the concerts, if you would like to know more please ask me in person! But I really needed to mention my concert of the year, seeing legendary tabla master Zakir Hussain. I had gotten these tickets for free and had gone on a whim as I actually had not known of the artist previously. Accompanied by just a flute and sarangi player, the music the trio created on stage was so deeply real, personal and masterful. I vowed to see him again the next time he came to Montreal. Unfortunately, I just heard of his passing on December 15th at the age of 73. I recommend checking out his live performances especially, so that you can see the depth of his talent, you will be hooked. Thank you Zakir Hussain!
SAMUEL “THEE” ROBERTS - Hip Hop Music Director and Host of Whip Appeal
Top 10 Hip-Hop/R&B LPs (International)
It was near-impossible to narrow this down to just 10. I’m missing projects for sure on this list that I loved and had to shift around for petty reasons (Freddie Gibbs’ bummer of a set at Jazz Fest this year may have played a part in not making the top 10, lol) but this was one of the best years in a LONG time for the genre and I couldn’t be happier.
1. Kendrick Lamar – GNX
Duh.
2. JPEGMAFIA – I Lay Down My Life for You
The high watermark of Peggy’s Wild Ride this year, almost making up for producing for Vultures 1 and going on tour next year with zombified Linkin Park. Almost.
3. Chief Keef – Almighty So 2
Keef’s best full-length project in almost a decade, and a surprisingly mature return to the Chicago drill style that he pioneered.
4. Big Hit, Hit-Boy & The Alchemist – Black & Whites
Megaproducer Hit-Boy and his father Big Hit teamed up with The Alchemist for the most underrated project of the year.
5. ØKSE – ØKSE
An unbelievably complex and somehow vibe-y fusion of avant-garde jazz and post-rap. This project grew on me each time I spun it and will continue to do so, I’m sure.
6. MIKE & Tony Seltzer – Pinball
Short and sweet, my favourite full-length coming out of the NYC drumless/abstract scene that has been ridiculously prominent this year.
7. CupcakKe – Dauntless Manifesto
I was laughing out loud on the bus for probably over half of this album. Nobody does audacious lyrics and shock value like CupcakKe, and her flow has stayed remarkably fresh in the years since her hiatus began at the beginning of the pandemic. Welcome back!
8. NxWorries – Why Lawd?
Anderson .Paak & Knxwledge’s first collaboration back in 2015 was the soundtrack to my high school years, and while this doesn’t quite hit those highs the chemistry of these two is too smooth to deny.
9. LL Cool J – The Force
“Don’t call it a comeback!” wrote every hack music journalist in unison when LL’s first album in ten years turned out to also be his first good album in nearly thirty! Shoutout Q-Tip for reviving the legacy of one of hip-hop’s elder statesmen.
10. AyooLii, FearDorian & POLO PERKS <3<3<3 – A Dog’s Chance
The standout regional scene of the year has to be Milwaukee lowend; the high-BPM high-808 sample-heavy, vulgar, irreverent mashup of genres that has to be heard to be believed. This record samples Midwest emo, M.I.A. and even Hawai’ian ukulele legend Iz Kamakawiwoʻole’s cover of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. It’s fantastic.
Best of Canadian Hip-Hop/R&B
I listen to a LOT of Canadian stuff for Whip Appeal and as Hip-Hop MD, almost too much to think about fairly for a ranked list (plus there were a TON of great projects that came out this year!). Here were my favourite moments of the year for homegrown hip-hop. Out of fairness to the rest of the artists on this list, I have refused to include my chart-topping live on-air freestyle during CJLO’s funding drive.
- Backxwash – “Wake Up” (AND her set at Suoni 2024!!)
- Boldy James & Nicholas Craven – Penalty of Leadership
- CHUNG & PerutheProducer – Perdu in Peru EP
- DJ Muggs & Raz Fresco – The Eternal Now
- Chxrry 22 – “Poppin Out (Mistakes)”
- Everything Mike Shabb put out this year (MTL MVP!!)
- Francesca Wexler – I Dreamt I Found a Red Ruby
- Fraud Perry – Goodybag
- jev. – When Angels Cry
- Obia le Chef & Cotola - Nimrod
- SadBoi – Bare Chat
Top 10 Films
I’m a film studies major. That’s the joke. I haven’t seen a lot of the award contenders yet but here as of writing were my favorites. There is no chance Terrifier 3 will make it to Oscars season in my top 10. And yes, you’re reading the number 1 spot correctly. Twenty years from now, either people are going to agree with me that Megalopolis (“more like Mega-FLOP-olis!” sayeth the unconverted) is a revolutionary cinematic masterwork… or its critical standing will get worse. Who cares? Go see it. I have literally thought about it every day for the past four months and unfortunately I’m NOT joking!
1. Francis Ford Coppola – Megalopolis
2. Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
3. Alex Garland – Civil War
4. Rose Glass – Love Lies Bleeding
5. Luca Guadagnino – Challengers
6. Kiyotaka Oshiyama – Look Back
7. George Miller – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
8. Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two
9. Damien Leone – Terrifier 3
10. Mike Cheslik – Hundreds of Beavers
Top 10 Other Stuff I Was Listening to This Year
Believe it or not, I’m not just a massive hip-hop/R&B nerd but also a massive music nerd in general. While I didn’t listen to a ton of recent releases this year outside of those genres, these were my other LP and song fixations this year.
- 23 Skidoo – Urban Gamelan (1984, funky industrial/dub)
- Bob Dylan – Oh Mercy (1989, Dylan x Daniel Lanois ambient americana vibes)
- Brian Eno & John Cale – Wrong Way Up (1990, art pop with super melodramatic choruses)
- The Cookies – “I Never Dreamed” (1964, Brill building girl-group perfection)
- The Divine Comedy – Liberation (1993, whimsical pretentious Britpop at the highest level)
- Hum – “Stars” (1995, grungy shoegazey 90s alt-rock one hit wonder)
- The Lemon Twigs – A Dream Is All We Know (2024, Todd Rundgren x Byrds reborn, must listen for all power pop nerds)
- Les Rallizes Dénudés – ‘77 Live (1991, Japanese psych-noise rock, a live recording that clips all the audio past any reasonable standard of mixing, my most-listened to record this year)
- Peter Gordon and the Love of Life Orchestra – “Beginning of the Heartbreak/Don’t Don’t” (2010, an extended 9-minute minimalist jazz/post-punk disco jam, great for workouts)
- Sonic’s Rendezvous Band – “City Slang” (1978, Detroit crunchy-as-hell garage rock)
Adam Inniss - Local Journalism Reporter
2024 albums I liked listening to on the bus in 2024
Àbáse - Awakening
Spiritual jazz. Good for an early morning ride on the bus.
Arooj Aftab - Nite Reign
Freaky and wild. Pretty and ugly. Dynamic combo of jazz, ambient and Pakistani folk. Good for a late night bus ride.
Cameron Winter - Heavy Metal
Geese frontman’s first solo debut combines nonsensical poetics with odd textures. Good if you feel too normal on the bus and would like to feel stranger.
Geese - Geese Live and In Person
New York rock/post-punk outfit Geese followed up their successful 2023 album 3D country with this goofy little live album. Wakes you up if you need to rock out on the bus.
Doechii - Alligator bites Never Heal
It’s sick! Sounds great on the bus.
Remi Caron - Equiptment Manager and Co-host of At The Movies
Favorite Albums of the year in non-order
Can-con
Barnacle - Such A Waste
The Wesleys - The Wesleys
Ducks Ltd. - Harm’s Way
Mustafa - Dunya
Dog Day - A T Shirt With Writing On It
Non cancon
Idles- Tangk
Bleachers- Bleachers
Childish Gambino - Brando Stone and the New World
Kendrick Lamar - GNX
Jamie xx - In Waves
Favorite Scores and Soundtracks of The Year in Non-Order
Hans Zimmer - Dune Part 2
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross- Challengers
Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow- Civil War
Clint Mansel - Love Lies Bleeding
Raffertie- The Substance
Bryce Dessner- We Live In Time
Jon Batiste - Saturday Night
Benjamin Wallfisch- Alien: Romulus
Camille Dalmais and Clément Ducol and Various Cast - Emilia Pérez
Daniel Blumberg - The Brutalist
A Non Definitive, Almost Top 10 Films of 2024, Ranked
10. Jacques Audiard - Emilia Pérez
9. Rose Glass - Love Lies Bleeding
8. Jeff Nichols - The Bikeriders
7. Yorgos Lanthimos- Kinds of Kindness
6. Luca Guadagnino- Challengers
5. Greg Kwedar - Sing Sing
4. Jane Schoenbrun - I Saw The TV Glow
3. Alex Garland - Civil War
2. Denis Villeneuve - Dune: Part Two
1. Sean Baker - Anora
*Follow Along on Letterboxd as the list gets updated*
Honourable Mentions In Non-Order
Coralie Fargeat - The Substance
Aaron Schimberg - A Different Man
Benjamin Ree - The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
Kelsey Mann - Inside Out 2
Fede Álvarez - Alien: Romulus
Jason Reitman - Saturday Night
John Crowley - We Live In Time
Ali Abbasi - The Apprentice
George Miller - Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Shawn Levy - Deadpool & Wolverine
Osgood Perkins - Longlegs
Zoë Kravitz - Blink Twice
Alice Rohrwacher - La Chimera
Anna Kendrick - Women of The Hour
Dev Patel - Monkey Man
Ishana Night Shyamalan - The Watchers
Daniel McAndrew - Host of No Boundaries
Top 25 Albums of 2024
25. Ariana Grande - eternal sunshine
24. Nicholas Jaar - Piedras 1
23. Rema - HEIS
22. Brittany Howard - What Now
21. Corridor - Mimi
20. Jamie xx - In Waves
19. Flore Laurentienne - 8 Tableaux
18. Mustafa - Dunya
17. Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk
16. Montañera - A Flor de Piel
15. Adrianne Lenker - Bright Future
14. Jennifer Castle - Camelot
13. Jessica Pratt - Here in the Pitch
12. Ariel Kalma, Jeremiah Chiu, Marta Sofia Honer - The Closest Thing to Silence
11. Dummy - Free Energy
10. Rapsody - Please Don’t Cry
This is a profound, hour-plus concept album where Rapsody seems to be pushing her talent to the limit to see just how far she can go… and it turns out the possibilities are endless.
9. duendita - the mind is a miracle
duendita’s debut album is one of my all-time favs, and we finally got a follow-up. Even though it’s only a 21-minute EP, it’s better than most full-length albums I heard this year.
8. Ka - The Thief Next to Jesus
Another concise and perfect concept album by Ka. For sure one of his absolute best. I’m so sad it turned out to be his last. RIP Kaseem Ryan
7. Nala Sinephro - Endlessness
This album is truly the perfect fusion of everything good about ambient music and jazz. Instead of being ambient-leaning jazz or jazz-leaning ambient, it is equally both—a perfect yin and yang.
6. Naemi - Dust Devil
This album is a masterpiece and one of the most unique electronic albums I’ve heard this year. It’s like it exists in its own alternate universe of electronic music. And it’s one I’m gonna be visiting again and again.
5. Jeff Parker ETA IVtet - The Way Out of Easy
Another incredible album by the groundbreaking quartet. Decidedly more jazz than the first while still being entirely its own thing. In a year of so much incredible and unique music, this one stands in its own league.
4. Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn - Quiet in a World Full of Noise
A masterpiece and the highlight of Dawn Richard’s career so far. It’s the first time her lyrics reference the years of abuse she endured from P Diddy. There is an immense beauty in these songs and a hope and perseverance to keep going in the face of tragedy and trauma.
3. Porter Robinson - Smile :D
A shameless pop album featuring the most cliché sounds from the least cool genres of the last 20 years… yet all of this is just a trojan horse for some of the best songwriting of the year. It also poses the listener a sort of profound question:
Do you think this kind of music sounds lame because you just don’t like it or because it reminds you of the parts of yourself you left behind in your youth trying to become a person other people might like?
2. DIIV - Frog In Boiling Water
Frog In Boiling Water is a masterpiece and by far DIIV’s best album. These are powerful songs that are genius in their simplicity. The lyrics look straight at the existential dread of our current moment and refuse to blink. Yet there is still some light at the end of the tunnel.
Also… best-sounding indie rock album of all time?
1. Loma - How Will I Live Without a Body?
The best album yet by one of the best bands out there. Each song is amazing on its own, but experienced together it weaves a beautiful tale of a person gradually lowering their defenses and letting people in again after a prolonged period of isolation and grief. The composition, production, and songwriting are uniformly excellent. This is how it starts to move again…
Favorite Ambient Albums
Naemi - Dust Devil
Nala Sinephro - Endlessness
Ariel Kalma, Jeremiah Chiu, Marta Sofia Honer - The Closest Thing to Silence
Saapato - On Fire Island
Flore Laurentienne - 8 Tableaux
Fennesz - Mosaic
Seefeel - Everything Squared
Eiko Ishibashi - Evil Does Not Exist
Nick Schofield - Ambient Ensemble
Merope - Vejula
upsammy - Strange Meridians
Favorite Albums not from 2024
Hikaru Utada - BAD MODE
Fishmans - Kuuchuu Camp, Long Season, Uchu Nippon Setagaya
Jeremiah Chiu and Marta Sofia Honer - Recordings from Aland Islands
Eiko Ishibashi - For McCoy
Porter Robinson - Nurture
Dettinger - Oasis
Hiroshi Yoshimura - AIR in Resort
Rafael Toral - Sound Mind Sound Body
Touché Amoré - Stage Four
Mica Levi - Monos
Karolan Boily - Le feu sous le toit
Ichiko Aoba - 0, qp, Windswept Adan
Top 5 Reels
1. x
2. x
3. x
4. x
5. x
Allison O’Reilly - Former Station Manager and Host of Transistor Sister
This has been an insane year for me personally, as I transitioned out of working for CJLO (aka the best place in the world) back to nursing school, and because of this, my consumption of media (including music!) has been extremely limited in comparison to previous years. A distressing situation to be in as a self-described pop culture connoisseur. Fret not, despite this, there were albums that entered my orbit and were certainly unavoidable; the following albums have made my busy, full life much more bearable and enjoyable.
Top 10 Albums of 2024
1. Charli XCX - Brat
My friends and I have been Charli fans since the Vroom Vroom EP (which was famously slammed by critics - fools!). Her mixtapes have been the soundtracks to our lives (and parties) for years, and it’s incredible to see Charli reach her mainstream apex with this triumph of a record. The vision is cohesive, the production is perfection, and this is Charli at her most vulnerable. A recipe for success and lasting appeal.
2. Ducks Ltd. - Harm’s Way
I was introduced to this Toronto group when they opened for The Hold Steady during their Toronto-weekend residency this summer, and oh boy they blew me away. This album has been on repeat ever since. Indescribably catchy with the jangle turned up to the nth degree. This album soundtracks the movie that plays inside my head and will for years to come.
3. Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee
I can’t even describe the magic that this album exudes, anymore than every critic worth a damn on this planet has already done. Sprawling, foggy, ethereal and just overall rad as hell. The guitar work is electric and the atmosphere fits any mood a person could possibly have, and can elicit any emotion in the broad spectrum of feeling. How is this even possible? Paired with the unconventional distribution via YouTube video and Geocities website, every aspect has me fervently in awe.
4. MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks
Everybody’s favorite indie boy du jour. And with good reason! The songs on this album are impeccably crafted. A slacker feel with a pointed perspective. The guitar is electric, the overall instrumentation is so tight, but it doesn’t feel forced or overly produced. “She’s Leaving You” will be the sad boy/girl/enby anthem for the rest of the decade and beyond. Also, thanks to Lenderman we all want to have our house boat docked at the Himbodome.
5. Geordie Greep - The New Sound
Just pure insanity. This prog-tinged art rock album is usually not the type of thing I go for, but Greep’s charisma and storytelling weaved with the eclectic styles of the instrumentation, I couldn’t help but take notice. Greep is a sick twisted freak, and I mean that in the most complimentary way. Plus, this album is solid as a brick. This album is meant for repeat listens, all the way through. Can’t wait to see him and his band live in the new year, I’m hoping for some face melting solos and some near-cringe level theatrics.
6. Kim Gordon - The Collective
Kim Gordon will always be the coolest person in the world. With its trap beats and edgy synth, this record is shocking, breathtaking, and just rad. It’s a breath of fresh air. Gordon’s vocal delivery is infectious and sophisticated. The contrast is remarkable. This record should’ve gotten so much more love than it did. I was lucky enough to see Gordon perform this record in Burlington this Spring, and the songs sounded even better live.
7. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD"
You can always count on Godspeed to make a powerful statement. With the title of this record, one can expect them bearing witness to the genocide taking place in Gaza, of which this death toll number has increased significantly. Before turning on this record, I was expecting mournful tragedy and devastation, and while some moments exude these feelings, overall this record permeates hope, with its emotional dynamism and catharsis reminding us that the power lies in the people, and that Palestine can never be erased, no matter how hard they try.
8. The Cure - Songs of a Lost World
A few weeks ago, I had an interesting conversation with Francella, CJLO’s former Station Manager. She asked, “Has any band who were large in the 80s been able to make an impact in the way The Cure has this year?” If you have an answer to this, let us know! Releasing an album like this in 2024, so true to style but with such beautiful and evolved instrumentation, is - and here’s that word I keep using - a triumph. This record is beautiful. No notes. Although tread carefully; as someone who has lost a sibling, I can’t listen to “I Can Never Say Goodbye” without shedding at least one tear.
9. Mount Eerie - Night Palace
The real Phil Elverum heads know that he’s the ultimate black metal connoisseur. The genre’s influence permeates this record, creating another epic reminiscent of The Glow Pt. 2 - our prayers have been answered! Elverum is at his best with his poetry and tinkering instrumentation. Elverum is the only musician that can destroy me with one line, and there are several lines in this record that punch me in the gut. “And so what if no one ever finds this notebook…”
10. Feeling Figures - Everything Around You
Montreal’s best band. I mean this truly! Since their days as Dead Beat Poet’s Society, this band has been crafting infectious tunes and working hard as hell, and with this release, all of their efforts have culminated in a true, solid rock record that is infinitely listenable and able to fit any mood or occasion. No writing partnership can rival Kay Moon and Zakary Slax. They are true students of Rock n’ Roll and have taken their influences and packaged them into something truly special, unique, and long lasting. Long live The Figs!
Nina - Co-Host of Dreamscapes
Top dream symbols of 2024 (in no particular order, list is not complete)
Water tigers, balloons, true love beagles, surrogate possums, spiders, bears, movie theatres, computers (with and without spitvalves), chronological cemeteries with beds, pharmaceutical math eggs (which maybe gwar laid?), dangerous cryptids at chill bbqs, Morpheus, mirrors that show life montages, men i trust music videos, evil mr. clean, invasion of ants, birds, leopard gecko, dancing chickens, transformation, water and fire elements
Not exactly symbols but worth honourable mentions
Using breathwork to destroy sleep paralysis monsters, tony sopranos dreams,having dreams without being able to see pictures in your mind(!), anxiety exam/back in high school dreams, “Dreelings”(dream-feelings, from june sniff episode), Bernard Sumner Summer 2025
Best Music Releases of 2024 (in no particular order, have for sure left important things out)
Kim Gordon - The Collective, Fontaines DC - Romance, GodspeedYou!BlackEmperor- "NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD", Megan Thee Stallion - Megan ACT II, Mannequin Pussy - I Got Heaven, Doechii - Alligator Bites Never Heal, Allison Burik - Realm, Knitting - Some Kind of Heaven, Liliane Chlela - Anatomy of a Jerk, Tyler The Creator - Chromakopia, Chappell Roan - "Good Luck Babe", Pangea de Futura - War Milk, Kee Avil - Spine, Marlaena Moore- “Hungry for God”, Ribbon Skirt - “Cellophane”, Men I Trust “ Husk ”, MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks
Best music discovered in 2024
Sneaks-Gymnastics (2016), Tool (discovered like 25 years ago but hold on)- we played “Right in Two” during one of our moon reports and ever since then the question has been: should we be doing this during all our moon reports?, No Joy- “Lunar Phobia” (i love this song and it’s about the moon) .
Top Moons of 2024
We love all moons, at all percentages of illuminations, on this show,obviously, we aren’t animals. Or, actually, we are, and therefore: we love all moons. As all animals do. However, seeing the moon in Montreal during the total eclipse in April (and the geese that emerged confused and bumped into the bats, also confused, during totality) does get a special shout out. How could it not?But also it made more than one Dreamscape Host feel weird and actually kind of physically ill.We are moon-senstive on this show. Obviously.
Top Animals Near the Station of 2024
Baby Horned Owl (on de maisonneuve bike path: so sleepy, such floofy “horn” feathers)
Turkey Vulture (on de maisonneuve bike path: not sleepy, not floofy, kinda intense tbh)
Squirrel eating an entire pizza box near Loyola Campus (met all squirrel expectations)
Wild Rabbit in park (that looked like it was maybe a piece of cardboard but it was a pretty rabbit out in the grass looking the moon!: 10/10 would recommend)
Books/TV/Podcasts etc.
Books: Rude Citizenship by Larisa Kingston Mann, Alien Virus Love Disaster by Abbey Mei Otis, Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado, Survival is a Promise by Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Subterrane by Valérie Bah, Podcast: Break Stuff (2024). TV show: Deadloch (2023), English Teacher (2024), Tarot decks: Lineages of Change Tarot - adrienne maree brown (2024). Deck of Oracles- Missing Witches (2024).
Alex Viger-Collins - Host of Ashes to Ashes
Top 10 favourite albums of 2024, listed in alphabetical order (but my #1 is Brat!)
Amery - Continue As Amery
Cadence Weapon - Rollercoaster
Charli XCX - Brat
Cléa Vincent - Ad vitam æternamour
The Dare - What's Wrong with New York
Fabiana Palladino - Fabiana Palladino
Kendrick Lamar - GNX
Laraw - Quarter Life Crisis
Peggy Gou - I Hear You
Sprints - Letter to Self
Sophie Alexander - Host of Are We There Yet?
Top 10 Best Albums of the Year (unranked)
Chanel Beads – Your Day Will Come
This album blends folk and airy electronic elements into one cohesive sound, with orchestral melodies lingering in the air as if trapped in a low-hanging cloud, giving each track a unique vignette with a distinctly transcendent vaporous quality. The use of sonic ephemera infuses elements of the past, present and future to create a scrapbooked sound that is irreplicably organic.
Jessica Pratt – Here In The Pitch
This album is the sound of a new beginning, signifying a sonic rebirth for Pratt. The languid, analog sound evokes a 1960s southern Californian coastal holiday, with Pratt’s ever distinct and bewitchingly delightful voice reminiscing on life and new beginnings. Far brighter and sunnier than her previous projects, the haunting undercurrent of her voice permeates the record, adding a layer of much-needed depth. The album is a hazy epitaph of a bygone summer.
JPEGMAFIA – I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU
For me, this was one of the best hiphop albums of the year. The earnestness and authenticity of Peggy's lyricism, especially on the final four tracks on the album, resonated and captured that moment in time, a bittersweet end to summer. This album felt like a moment of maturity for JPEGMAFIA, who revisits older flows to establish his growth as an artist, while simultaneously still proving his creative and experimental artistic prowess throughout.
ULNA – Gazebo
As a massive Elliott Smith lover, ULNA somehow captures his essence, without sounding like a knock off. Ballads of a suburban childhood (despite being nothing like my own) struck a universal chord of experience, like that vaguely melancholic moment of drifting to sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor of your friend’s basement at a sleepover; the first pangs of homesickness plucking at the strings of your eight year old heart. Listening awakens a wave of long-repressed nostalgia for a past not quite remembered.
Mount Kimbie – The Sunset Violent
On this album, Mount Kimbie veers further into shoegaze territory, with a post-punk, electronic sound. They seem to have turned up the distortion, with lyrics musing about the absurdity of life (always a hit for me). Sonically, it reminds me of if Stereolab or Galaxie 500 had a slightly dark evil cousin.
Adrianne Lenker – Bright Future
A new classic, which I believe will only be amplified with age, much like her previous album Songs which has become an indie-folk cult-classic. Known for her candidly intimate and poetic lyricism which strikes humanity’s universal heart string, Lenker’s music is authentically digestible and poignant to her broad fan base. Lenker's ability to harness the core of raw human emotion on Bright Future gives me some semblance of hope for humanity.
The Smile – Wall of Eyes
This album was released so early in the year I almost forgot it came out this year, but it did and it was epic. While the two most popular and notably creative members of Radiohead splitting off from the pack to create a new side project rubs me slightly the wrong way, I can’t complain if this is the body of work they are putting out. The addition of jazz drummer Tom Skinner really set this album apart sonically for me, the distinct quality of the drums remind me of the distinctness of the drums in bands like CAN.
MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks
I was an extremely late-adopter of this album (I don’t want to talk about my frankly bizarre and out-of-character listening habits in September), but this album is heaven on a platter for any indie rock loving, self-proclaimed wallower (i.e. me). Lenderman’s lyrics are notes app ramblings realized, executed in a way which makes them both achingly authentically relatable and endearingly nonsensical. He’s got a direct line to my achilles heel of sadness and hits it with aggressive force in between his prattling.
Villagerrr – Tear Your Heart Out
This album is a new front for folk music, incorporating a distinct midwestern twang which is delightfully endearing baked into the core of the project. I love a place-based approach to music (if you’ve ever tuned in to “Are We There Yet?” that's abundantly clear) and this Ohio-centric record is a foray into a new facet of midwestern emo, indie rock.
Doechii – Alligator Bites Never Heal
Not much I can say that hasn’t already been said about this brilliant, witty, innovative, charming, funny, yet vulnerable and relatable album. Doechii deserves every bit of recognition for this album, as she continues to carve a distinct place in the industry for her authentic self. In the words of Kendrick Lamar: “the hardest out.”
**Bonus EP: King Krule – SHHHHHHH! **
(I’m including this as a bonus despite being an EP…shhhhhhh!) Honestly, it’s gotten to a point where almost anything Archy releases will probably make my best of list, but this EP is genuinely fantastic. In a major moment for me, “it’s all soup now” – a song I had been streaming for years on soundcloud – is featured on the track list. The muffled intimate quality of the recording only adds to the specialness of it, and the pervasive pulse which builds to a crescendo carries you along like an under current. The darker, more ominous sound of the EP really reminds me of Krule’s The Ooz (one of my all time favourite albums ever), and the gravelly distinctness of Archy’s voice pairs so well with this sonic environment. Even for an EP the tracks toe the line of being cohesive yet distinct. My only wish is that it was a full album, but I’ll take what I can get.
Top 5 Best Thrifts of the Year
Thrifting might be an actual addiction for me, I’m like a gambler when it comes to it, everytime I pass one, I hear it beckoning out to me. I have been late, blown many budgets and have a closet overflowing with clothes I scarcely wear because of it. If this blurb hasn’t convinced you, then perhaps my almost entirely thrifted closet will allow me some authority on the matter – or don’t listen to me and miss out (your loss)! I hope I don’t regret this list for blowing up my own joints!
Magasin Chainon - It’s become my go to place if ever I’m bored on a Sunday and don’t feel like putting the effort into going on a true expedition. Despite its prime Plateau real estate (the corner of Mont Royal and St.Laurent), the prices (in my opinion) are extremely fair – items typically priced from $2-12. For the trinket lovers (and used CD collectors) the entire basement level is a treasure trove.
Renaissance Outremont - Everyone knows Renaissance (the Goodwill of Montreal), but this specific location is another frequent of mine. Located in the wealthy neighbourhood of Outremont, this place has some of the best designer finds for no more than $10. It is a tiny location (unbelievably over-stimulating) so prepare to assert your dominance in those narrow aisles. It’s also worth noting that there is no fitting room, so come in an outfit you can slip things on over, or prepare to have to gamble and forgo the try-ons until after purchasing!
La Seconde - For those who prefer top-notch curation over a day of sweating and voraciously digging through stinky old clothes, consider La Seconde the glamping of thrifting. I’m typically one of those snooty thrifters who turns my nose up at such establishments as the “vintage store”, La Seconde is my exception. This place is like Carrie Bradshaw’s closet as a store, complete with racks of designer dresses, grunge tops from small designers who no longer exist, and the chicest tailored pants. However the immaculate curation is certainly reflected in the price, which is more expensive (in the $40-150 range).
The Bins - On the complete opposite end of the spectrum… I love the bins. What's not to love? Walking 5 km from Metro Namur through an industrial wasteland, battling with a man wearing a real tree camo jacket and bud light cap as a new bin is wheeled out, the perpetual smell of piss and stale air and the feverish cold sweats and shakes after digging through the 20th bin filled with mysteriously stained pyjama pants. Despite all of that, every few bins you’ll find a gem and you’ll rock up to the cash with an entire cart full of clothes amounting to a total of only $12 and it will all be worth it. (Only piece of advice: WEAR GLOVES and make a day of it).
Common Sort - I’d been on the Common Sort train for years (with one of their Toronto locations being just around the corner from my house and I’d been trading in old clothes for store credit since probably age 15) so when I saw they opened a Montreal location I said a quick prayer for my checking account and headed down St.Lau. A consignment store with genuinely fair prices, they buy by season and have something for just about everyone. The best part about Common Sort is the consignment aspect, meaning you can trade in your old clothes and get either cash or store credit back. If you feel guilty buying more clothes when you already have an overflowing closet, just trade some old ones in and have a guilt-free (and actually free) shopping spree instead!
Angela Bégin - Host of The Spacious Astrology Playlist
Best Songs of 2024
Waxahatchee, MJ Lenderman - “Right Back to It”
Mk.gee - “Alesis”
Adrianne Lenker - “Sadness As A Gift”
Clairo - “Sexy to Someone”
MJ Lenderman - “She’s Leaving You”
Mannequin Pussy - “Loud Bark”
Corridor - “Caméra”
Hildegard, Helena Delano, Ouri - “Pour Your Heart Out”
The Smile - “Wall of Eyes”
Anna Justen - “Individualism”
Lutalo - “Ocean Swallows Him Whole”
The Marias - “Run Your Mouth”
Loving - “Uncanny Valley”
Bonny Light Horseman - “When I Was Younger”
Haley Heynderickx - “Foxglove”
Clay pigeon - “Natural Disaster”
Micah Preite - “Hottie With A Ducati”
Jon McKiel - “Hex”
Julian Lage - “Northern Shuffle”
Bon Iver - “S P E Y S I D E”
Ivytide - “Vacant”
Nilufer Yanya - “Like I Say (I runaway)”
Brittany Howard - “Red Flags”
Local Natives - “April”
Beabadoobee - “Beaches”
Clifton Hanger - Host of Brave New Jams
Ten Notable Concerts From 2024
1. Billy Strings at DCU Center Worcester,MA USA 07/30/2024
Billy Strings seems to be everywhere these days so I felt inclined to include some jam-grass in the top ten. I was going to go with the show from 4-20 with it’s fun covers but the sound quality of this show put it over the edge.
2. Cowboy Junkies at Diana Wortham Theatre Asheville, NC USA
The only returninig band from last years list, but one can never have enough Cowboy Junkies
3. Godspeed You! Black Emperor at MTELUS Montreal,QC Canada 11/26/2024
Better sound quality then 25 and similar yet not quite the same setlist Photo> Glaciers one of the highlights the show.
4. Goose at The Troubadour West Hollywood,CA USA 10/01/2024
The bands tenth anniversary concert.
5. Holly Bowling at Legend Valley Thornville, OH USA 05/25/2024
A late-night set to close out Dark Star Jubilee. Just over an hour of Ms. Bowling’s strange goodness on the keyboards.
6. Lettuce at Hi-Fi Annex Indianapolis, IN USA 09/13/2024
Lettuce is healthy for mind and body especially when it’s a great sounding soundboard matrix. Hit play and forget about the cold nasty weather.
7. Phil Lesh Quintet at Capital Theatre 03/06/2024 Port Chester,NY USA
In jazz, when somebody mentions 'The Quintet' it brings to mind Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus and Max Roach concert at Massey hall in Toronto in 1953. In jam band terms it’s Grateful Dead base player teamed up with Warren Haynes - Guitar/Vocals, Jimmy Herring - Guitar, Rob Barraco - Keyboards/Vocals Phil Lesh - Bass/Vocals, John Molo - Drums through the early 2000’s, and recently for one last kick at the can this past summer, sadly just a few months from his passing in October at the age of 84.
8. The National at Royal Arena Copenhagen Denmark 08/06/2024
For everyone who missed them when they played in town, (myself included) here is the next best thing.
9. The War On Drugs at United Center Chicago,IL USA 09/24/2024
10. Umphreys McGee at Three Sisters Park Chillicothe,IL USA 25/25/2024
Andrew Wieler - Metal Music Director and Host of Grade A Explosives
10. Deathwish - The Fourth Horseman
Wisconsin is known for such glorious things as... ummm... cheese... and... probably something else, but what they really should be known for is this band right here. Like a second coming of Motorhead, this record is a classic and yet modern sounding heavy rock record that should be able to get your heart pounding regardless of how much cheese is blocking your arteries.
9. Candy - It's Inside You
This record is a fucking trip. Metal, dubstep, electronica, industrial, it all melds together at some point on this unhinged record. If you want to be challenged by your metal, this is the record from this year to do it.
8. Planesmistakenforstars - Do You Still Love Me?
The last record from a band with an amazing punk / post-punk discography. It doesn't get more tragic than the lead singer of a band mournfully bellowing about his dead friend and guitarist for the band, only for you to realize that the lead singer is now also dead. A ghost singing about another ghost: that is some heavy content and it's just a haunting end to a band that was underappreciated at all turns.
7. Gost - Prophecy
Moving away from the more goth / post punk of the last record, Gost throws a lot more black metal vocals onto this absolute electronic monstrosity. This really feels like the music you'd hear at the last discotheque before you get into Hell, and I love it.
6. Melted Bodies - The Inevitable Fork
This is sort of a cheat since this album is a collection of the last three EPs which have been being released since the end of 2022, but it's my list and with the madness imbued inside each of the tracks, I think I can put it here. If you like weirdness in your rock / metal with things like The Melvins and Dog Fashion Disco, you should 100% go listen to this.
5. Sandveiss - Standing in the Fire
Pound for pound, I have found no more consistent stoner rock than I have with Quebec City's Sandveiss. Every track is catchy no matter if its a ballad or a high energy rock song. Every record is a fun ride that is musically interesting that doesn't really have a bad track in the bunch.
4. Family Man - Iconoclast
There have been a good deal of dance / art / weirdo punk bands that have been putting things out recently, and for whatever reason, none of them has really hit the way Montreal's Family Man record hit me. A bit of a departure from their more pop-punk approach of the last album and I hope the chaotic energy is here to stay.
3. Chelsea Wolfe - She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She
Much like black metal, I find that industrial does best when its a topping on an otherwise established genre of music, and Chelsea Wolfe definitely understands how to layer industrial on top of the heavy singer / songwriter records she's been putting out. Her ethereal vocals take center stage over tracks that oscillate between the soundtracks to nightmares and dreams.
2. The Cure - Songs of a Lost World
You want to talk an album? This is an album. Robert Smith and company could have easily never graced us with another record again and their legacy would still be solidly intact. But here we are, and after fighting against Ticketmaster last year, proving they still have the chops to do an expansive tour, and to put a record this good, they may have cemented their legend placement even further. This album explores various aspects about life, death, legacy, and sounds lush and full while doing so. If you were a Cure fan and haven't checked this out yet, do yourself the biggest favor and give it a listen, preferably with tissues close by.
1. Bilmuri - American Motor Sports
Wha